UN released report on human rights violations in DRC

On October 1, 2010, the UN released a report [PDF] on war crimes and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The report listed 617 of the most serious violations of human rights, including violence against children, genocide and mass rape, committed between 1993 and 2003. The report examined the crimes in the context of a number of conflicts within the country, including the two Congo wars that occurred in the late 1990s. The report also devoted a chapter to the link between the crimes committed in the country and the exploitation of natural resources, particularly diamonds and copper. The report concluded with an assessment of the justice system in the DRC and proposed reforms to strengthen justice in that country, including the suggestion that the DRC pass a bill which would implement the Rome Statute in that country, giving the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over war crimes committed there.